Every person, every place, and every time needs supernatural help if they are going to be a true success in life. This is especially true when it comes to times of challenges, tragedy, or struggles. I figured this out on my third escape from prison when the Lord spoke to me and told me to turn myself in. Life should not be lived apart from God or His power.
God has a spiritual protocol for today that each and every one of us needs to follow if we are going to be a success. The spiritual protocol simply means direction, plans, and decisions that we should follow to bring great success, not just to our lives, but to our nation as well. This protocol is found in 2 Chronicles chapter 20.
King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Israel were facing tremendous opposition from the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. This great opposition was encamped nearby, and for many of us, we’d wonder what to do or run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
But here is the key to the spiritual protocol for today. Step one— Stop, Drop, and Pray. The first thing you need to do when something comes against you is seek the Lord. Yes, Jehoshaphat’s immediate reaction was fear, but he did the right thing in the midst of that fear. He set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Not only did he seek the Lord, but everyone that was involved with the situation sought the Lord.
The next thing he did (Step two) was to focus on God’s greatness, not the problem. When Jehoshaphat prayed, he didn’t pray the problem. Too many Christians pray the problem. That’s not how you get results with God. He talked about how big God was. When we lift up God, focus on Him, and talk about how big He is, the problems fade away; they no longer become your focus. They appear as grasshoppers in your sight because you’re looking at God.
After this time of lifting God up, praising and worshipping Him, Jehoshaphat eventually presented the problem but maintained a focus and reliance upon God (Step three). This reliance is key. We have to get our eyes off the problem and get them on God.
After this time of seeking the Lord and bringing their petitions to God humbly, the Lord spoke. He responded to faith-filled prayers, not ones of fear or need. Lots of people have needs, but God doesn’t respond to need. He responds to faith. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel and gave specific directions. In fact, those directions seemed foolish. Many times the Lord will tell us to do things that don’t make sense to us. That’s because He knows something we don’t. If we’ll just be humble and obey, many times we’ll get to see what that is that He knows because the answer is on the other side of our obedience.
The direction for Israel was to set praisers and worshippers out before the army. The strategy was the praise through the victory (Step four). They were obedient to do what God said, and the result was them gathering up the spoils. All the different armies turned on each other, and they didn’t have to do anything. The battle was not theirs, but God’s.
The battle was won without a fight. For three whole days Israel was gathering riches, jewels, and spoils from the enemies. This victory strategy is our protocol today.
Praise the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever. Praise is the highest type of prayer. We must praise God over finances, physical symptoms, children, and all circumstances. Very often we do a lot of praying, but not enough praising.
Turn to God, set your eyes upon Him, and begin to praise Him and glorify Him. If He gives you direction, obey it. Regardless of the situation, the enemy cannot win, and it is time for us to “gather the spoil.” God is with us.
